Whats the easiest 3d modeling program available at present, something really basic that could be taught to a 13 year old?. Does anybody have any other ideas for an interesting creative program that could be taught to youngsters? It could be anything to do with music, video editing, not too technical.

modo 3d is easy to use and mudbox is very easy to use.
I remember I was learning 3d studio 4.0 for dos when I was 15
It was a really great experience.

_________________
Andyba, 3d artist
skills: 3d modeling, texturing, rendering, 3d character animation, compositing
3d software experience: 3ds max, Maya, Softimage XSI, Deep Paint 3d, Body Paint 3D, Wings 3D, Z Brush
2d software experience: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After effects, Macromedia Flash, Freehand

Personally, the easiest program for me is Carrara

But, if you want something free.. then Blender is the one.

But Blender is not conventional.

You may also want to give Silo a go. It's pretty cheap and has a simple learning curve.

Hi, Here's a new release that I recentely came across. This software is a lot cheaper. Check out this video, "Fluid Simulation Demo" at youtube. I'm sorry I can't post links here because I'm less than 15 days old to this forum.

If you're interested, go to youtube and type neevin2009 in the search bar, then at the bottom, you'll find "Fluid Simulation Demo". click it to watch and check the link in the description box.

Thanks
Neevin

Johnny_McD wrote:

Whats the easiest 3d modeling program available at present, something really basic that could be taught to a 13 year old?. Does anybody have any other ideas for an interesting creative program that could be taught to youngsters? It could be anything to do with music, video editing, not too technical.

Sketchup is handsdown the easiest program in my opinion.
_________________
Available Freelancer

modo 3d

EasyToy should be the easiest 3d modeling software.

Go to youtube and you will find "EasyToy 3D modeling"

Johnny_McD wrote:

Whats the easiest 3d modeling program available at present, something really basic that could be taught to a 13 year old?. Does anybody have any other ideas for an interesting creative program that could be taught to youngsters? It could be anything to do with music, video editing, not too technical.

Blender 2.5 is the new release, and you know, I took a look at it and said "wow!"

It's looking much friendlier then previous blender versions. 2.5 is still in development, but I'd say: check it out before you consider any commercial option.

For me Autodesk Maya 2010 is most entertaining and easiest for me(funny I just know using Maya as 3d modelin program)

You are out of your mind thehell677 for showing Maya as the easiest software in 3d. its most complicated and among most advanced software in the industry. id rather say google sketchup in the easiest 3d software out there.

I would say not to go with the easiest, go with something you can affort and something that you will use to continue working in 3d.

No point in getting something easy but noone uses it in the industry.

Your just going to then need to learn a whole new program and trust me most 3d apps are totally different to one another. You can just know 3ds max and expect to be as good using maya.

I think that you could consider Sketchup, Modo 3D or perhaps Cinema 4D. Of those I think that Sketchup is the easiest to learn and the basic version is free like Blender and pretty capable.

The New Blender could be a free alternative cause I think that in the new version it will be easier to use but version 2.6 is not ready yet (2.5 is a test version and is not complete until version 2.6 around this summer which is not that far away) and of the free alternatives for serious 3D out there I think Blender 2.6 is one of the best.

You can go now and use the stable production version of Blender which is 2.49b and is a very capable program but the new version 2.6 due in summer is a mayor departure from the old Blender and if your kid learns Blender now he/she may have to relearn a lot when Blender changes are complete in 2.6 so if you are going to consider Blender as an alternative maybe you should wait until summer until 2.6 is finally done so your kid won't have to adapt to the radical changes in version 2.6.

Most 3D programs have usually a steep learning curve so it is something that you just learn gradually, step by step, they do take time to master but when you do master one it is very rewarding if you have the artistic or technical talent or both. It is true that it may be better to stick to one that you think you will use later in the industry cause definitely programs such as 3D Studio Max and Maya are widely used in the industry but these are high caliber and expensive tools and not exactly the easiest to learn.

Some people start with an easier program and then migrate later on to a more complex one but this transition is not easy for some people and for others is like eating pie so how easy or how difficult it is going to be for your child to later on move to another different program is something that you cannot predict.

Despite that I can tell you from my own experience that overall once you learn one 3D program and master its concepts is far easier to learn another than to learn another from scratch not knowing anything about 3D because once you master the concepts of working in 3D like working with triangles and rendering the final picture and texturing and materials and others many of those concepts translate with relative ease to another 3D program.

You made no mention of budget which could be a concern or not because some of these programs go from the free ones to programs that cost thousands of dollars so that also counts. I hear many people say that Cinema 4D is far easier to learn than 3D Studio Max but Cinema 4D is still a relatively expensive program cause even in the basic version it costs around $1,000 and the full version can costs around $3,500 so budget can definitely be a concern.

Ultimately the issue of what 3D program is best to learn can be quite a hot debate. Believe me many people here as you can see will give you many different answers but if you ask me I'll tell you that maybe your kid can start with something like Sketchup or Modo 3D and later on if he or she wishes to move to something different that can be done.

K-3D is free-as-in-freedom 3D modeling and animation software. It features a plugin-oriented procedural engine for all of its content, making K-3D a very versatile and powerful package.
K-3D excels at polygonal modeling, and includes basic tools for NURBS, patches, curves and animation.